Company Positioned to Tap a Potential Billion Dollar Bioplastic Market in Italy as a Result of Legislation Banning Plastic Bags
Cereplast, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERP), a leading manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, compostable and sustainable plastics, announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Italy-based ColorTec S.r.l. to supply bioplastic resin to the Southern Italian and Slovenian markets. This partnership reflects Cereplast's continued commitment to working with local partners throughout Europe to bring bioplastic materials to the continent for the manufacturing of products and packaging. Manufacturers, in Italy in particular, are increasingly seeking out plastic alternatives to comply with legislation that go into effect in 2011.
"Recent environmental legislation, such as the plastic bag ban that went into effect this year in Italy, is driving demand for bioplastics, which are non-petroleum-based products," said Mr. Frederic Scheer, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Cereplast, Inc. "We are confident that demand will continue to rise in Europe as stores in Italy alone use approximately 20-24 billion plastic bags a year, which accounts for one-fifth of all European use. This is the equivalent of a potential $1 billion bioplastics market in Italy as plastic bag manufacturers now have to replace traditional plastic with environmentally-friendly materials."
Under the terms of the agreement, Cereplast will provide ColorTec with its patented Compostable 3000 film grade for use in its masterbatch process for the production of shopping and garbage bags. The Cereplast 3000 film is designed to have strong puncture strength, toughness, and can be processed on existing blown film extrusion machines.
ColorTec is a leader in designing and developing masterbatches for adding colorant to bulk, uncolored resins. Its color and additive masterbatches are used in all major plastic processing methods, including blown and cast films, blownware, injection molding, extrusion coating, wire and cable, pipe and conduit, fiber spinning, among others.
ColorTec has a dominant position in Southern Italy and works closely with the municipalities in the country that have made the use of bioplastic trash bags mandatory as of January 1, 2011. As reported by British Plastic & Rubber in December 2010, Italy accounts for approximately 20 - 24 billion plastic bags in total consumption or 330 per person, annually.
"Our partnership with Cereplast enables us to meet the growing demand we're experiencing for non petroleum-based products in Slovenia and the Southern Italian region. In particular, demand is increasing in Italy as a result of the country's ban on the use of plastic bags," said Gaetano Paolillo, Sales & Marketing Director of ColorTec. "This collaborative agreement allows us to add high quality bioplastic resin to our product offering and cements our position as a leading masterbatch supplier in Southern Europe."
About Cereplast, Inc.
Cereplast, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERP) designs and manufactures proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics which are used as substitutes for petroleum-based plastics in all major converting processes - such as injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding and extrusions - at a pricing structure that is competitive with petroleum-based plastics. On the cutting-edge of bio-based plastic material development, Cereplast now offers resins to meet a variety of customer demands. Cereplast Compostables® Resins are ideally suited for single use applications where high bio-based content and compostability are advantageous, especially in the food service industry. Cereplast Sustainables™ Resins combine high bio-based content with the durability and endurance of traditional plastic, making them ideal for applications in industries such as automotive, consumer electronics and packaging. Learn more at www.cereplast.com. You may also visit the Cereplast social networking pages at Facebook.com/Cereplast, Twitter.com/Cereplast and Youtube.com/Cereplastinc.
Source: www.cereplast.com
